carmichael



R. E. CARMICHAEL. SAMPLE TAKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 4, l91`9.

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Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

'12051. a. mRmmAL,

anion.

I ROBERT E. CARMICHAEL, F DAMON, TEXAS, SSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 GEORG-E HAMMAM, 0F HOUSTON, TEXAS.

SAMPLE-TAKING DEVICE.

1,324,304. .Speeietion 0f etterslatent Patentedllect), 19319. Application filed August 4, 1919. Serial No. 315,211.

To all whom t may concern: in the specification which follows and these e it known that I, ROBERT E. CAR- objects will also be pointed out with more MICHAEL, a citizen of the United States, reparticularity inthe claims appended hereto. siding at Damon, Brazoria county, Texas, Referring now more particularly to the have invented a certain new and useful "drawings, wherein like characters of referu@ Improvement in Sample-Taking Devices, of ence are applied to like parts in both views, which the following isa full, clear, and Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section exact description, such as will enable others showing my device in operative position in skilled in the art to which it appertains to a well; Fig. 42 is a central longitudinal secmake and use the same. tion of the lower end of my device showing 6.5i

y invention relates to .an improvement certain details thereof. in sample taking 'devices for use in preserv- In the carrying out-of my invention I conlng the 4log of the well in drilling operations template employing the ordinary type of in earth, rock, or other similar formations. rotary drill, but to assure the proper return It is especially adapted for drilling wells of the cuttings of the bit to the surface 7@ for oil or sulfur, wherein it is necessary to where they may be preserved, I contemplate preserve an accurate record or log| of the employin a type of air lift pump which material through which the well shaft. is is adapte to cause an upward passage of sunk. l the material outside of the drill stem of such My invention has particular application strength and velocity as to lift with it in 7d in the formation found in the' Grulf Coast' suspension all of the material cut away by field of Texas and neighboring States, the drill. In the drawings I have shown myv although it is of value in all Well drilling. apparatus in connection with van ordinary In the Gulf Coast region the rock strata, in derrick 1, having the usual double platwhich m device finds particular applica-. form 2, upon which is situated the 80 tion, are lled with crevices or caverne in the rotary, shown more or less diagrammatimaterial through which the cuttings from cally at 3. The drill stem 9 is susthe drill bit may be washed away laterally pended by the derrick by the usual appainto the strata and thus lost. In the ordi- -ratus, there being a supporting swivel 4,

nary manner of drilling, a rotary drill is having at its upper end a goose-neck 5, cn- 85 placed at the endof a hollow rotating drill nected by means of a pipe 6, to a pump,'and stem through which water is pumped unthrough which the supply of flushing water er pressure, his water ndmg passage is furnished for the drilling operation. The through the blt and returning upwardly drill stem, supported rotatably within the 85 aroundV the drill stem and between the same .swivel 4, extends downwardly within the 90 and the walls of the same to the surface, well to a point'spaced some distance above carrying with it a portion of the cuttings in the bit where the lower end is seated within suspension. Where the strata are filled wlth an annular slot 7 in a Compound coupling 8.

crevices, however, the pressure of the pump The lower end of this coupling is threadl 40 is s'ulicient to cause a large amount of dep ed .interiorly for attachment to pipe 1'9 95 tritus cut away by the bit to be carried away which forms a continuation of the drill stem laterally into the crevices, and in some CaSBS and is attached at its lower end to the drill `the log ofthe well is completely lost, it bebit 10, by means ofa drill collar 11. The ing impossible' to obtain any record ofthe drill 10 is the common type 0f rock drill material'being drilled. now in use in rotary drilling operations and 100 obJect of my invention is to provide a has two rolling cone-shaped cutters 12 jourdevice which will assure the driller a return naled on bearings 13 which are mounted to the surface of the entire mass of maupon a spindle or post 14 integral with the terial cut away`bythe bit so that an accuhead.` of the bit. These cutters are lu-fbrirate log of the well may be thus obtained. cated in operation by a lubricant conducted, 105 An ther object 'is to rovide a device of downwardly to the cutters through oil ducts'` v the'kind described whic will be more .eco- 15 leading from a lubricant container 16 nomical and eflicient than any of the types Athreaded onto the upperendof the bit. o `ap'paralggs now 1n use. Other objects andr The flushingv water which is pumped into advantages will appear in the description the hollow drill stem through `the pipe 6 is 110 discharged downwardly under pressure through the hollow drill stem and through passages 17 in the head of the bit against the cutters 12, thereby serving to wash the cutters free of the material and carry the material cut away by the drill upwardly in suspension outside of the drill stem.

These cuttings carried in suspension in the water would ordinarily flow outwardly through crevices in the strata, such as are shown diagrammatically at 18, and be thus lost. I find, however, that by pumping air under. pressure downwardly, so that it will be discharged in the well some distance from the surface of the ground, that the upward passage of the air bubbles will cause such a rapid upward current in the well shaft as to carry` with it all of the water pumped down through thedrill stem, and the cuttings carried in suspension thereby. In order to accomplish this, I have placed outside of the drill stem 9 a larger pipe 20 concentric therewith, through which air may be conducted downwardly outside of the drill stem. This pipe is suspended at its upper end in the swivel block 4l and has at 21 a second swivel connection by means of which air may be pumped inwardly thereto from a pipe 22 leading to an air pump, not shown. This outer pipe is secured at its lower end within the coupling 8, being threaded therein at'23. At a point slightly l and provides a above its lower end it is perforated at 24 to allow escape of air pumped in through the pipe 22. At the upper end of the well I have fixed an outer casing 25 which extends downwardly for some dlstance in the well lining for the upper portion thereof. The upper end of this casing is closed so as to form a connection with the pipe 20 which will be more or less fluid tight, but which will also allow free rotation of the pipe 20 therein. The escaping current of water and air carrying with it the cuttings from the drill will then flow upwardly inside of this casing 25 and discharge laterally into any receptacle by means of pipe 26.

In the operation of my device the pipe 20 will be rotated by means of the rotary 3 and because of its connection at the coupling 8, with the lower end of the drill stem 19, will cause the rotation of the bit 10. The inner drill stem 9, which is also supported in the swivel 4:, will be seated also within the coupling so that it may be raised and lowered from its seat 7 as desired. This provision is made so that, as the drill is advanced, the inner section 9 may be raised for coupling with a new section of the drill stem as desired, it being necessary that it be elevated invadvance for this purpose, because of the outer pipe 20 which also has to be extended from time to time by the attachment of an extra length of pipe. The rotation of the drill stem and the drill bit l0 will cause face, but this type of the cutters 12 to roll upon the .bottom of the hole and to disintegrate the material which will be carried away by iushing water pumped downwardly through the pipe 6 and the drill stems 9 and 19 to the drill. Air pumped downwardly through the pipe 22 and the outer pipe 20 will find `an exit through the openings 24 into the well and will bubble up outside thereof to the surface actingin the manner of an air lift pump. The raising of the water by the air will cause such a strong upward current of the duid in the well that it will carry with it flushing water and the cuttings suspended therein which will be discharged at the upper-end of the well through the pipe 26 for inspection and preservation by the driller.

This type 0f apparatus makes it possible to insure a complete discharge of all the cuttings from the well at very great depths. It is occasionally necessary in deep well drilling to extend the well down as far as a mile in depth. Devices have "previously been constructed for preserving a record of the log of the well in which a core cut by a core bit may be discharged upwardly to the surapparatus will not operate under the conditions ordinarily existing in depths of over 750 to 1000 feet. Beyond that depth the amount of pressure capable of being exerted by ordinaryapparatus used in well drilling is not sufiicient to further discharge the core. In the device herein disclosed, however, it has been found that the cuttings will be entirely discharged at the greatest depths to which well drilling is extended. It has also been found that much less pump pressure, both on the water and on the air, is necessary i this type of sample taking device from any now in ordinary use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desir@J to protect, by

Letters Patent is 1. In a device of the character described,

a rotating drill stem, a drill thereon, a con-4 centric outer pipe connected with said drill stem at a point spaced above the drill, said outer pipe being perforated toward the lower end thereof, means to rotate said pipes and means to-discharge iuid downwardly through both pipes.

2. In a device of the character described, a rotating drill stem, a drill thereon, means to discharge water downwardly through said drill stem, and a pipe outside said drill stem adapted to discharge air or other fluid within the well at a point spaced upwardly from the drill.

3. In a device of the character described, a rotary drill stem seated removably at its lower end in a coupling member, a second section of drill stem connected in the lower end of the said coupling, a drill connected the `charge to discharge flushing water downwardly l0 through said drillstem and drill and a separate 'pi e outside said drill stem to disuid `downwardly within the well and outside said stem.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aHX my 15 signature this the 30 day of July, A. D.,

ROBERT E. CARMICHAEL. 

